The adoption
certificate (suitable for framing) is sent in a portfolio and includes
the adoptee(s) name(s). Each has a photo of the individual
whale or matriarch of the family or photos of mother/calf pair. A
Family Tree is also
included when adopting a family. The portfolio will also include
information about the adoptive whale(s), North Atlantic right whales
and the research station. A postcard, magnet or bookmark will
also be included.

CLASS
PROJECTS. Personalized individual business-size cards can
be
included for each student as well as a class certificate. An
age-appropriate activity will also be included.

An update on the
whales will be sent annually. To continue receiving this
newsletter an annual donation of $15 is required or other right whales
can be adopted.

The Grand
Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS) is a registered
charity in Canada incorporated in 1981 by its founder, the late Dr.
David
Gaskin.

We are dedicated to research and education which promote
conservation of the marine environment. Our researchers study
seabirds
and marine mammals in the lower Bay of Fundy, Canada, and
develop/deliver
education and stewardship programs through a natural history museum,
invited
lectures, publications, specific projects, a web site and outdoor
exhibits.

Funding
for this web site is from the Government of Canada Habitat Stewardship
Program
for Species at Riskand
donations to the GMWSRS.

The
North Atlantic
Right Whale

With an estimated
population
size of about 400, the North Atlantic right whale is one of the world's
most
endangered large whale. Named by early whalers as the "right
whale"
to kill, this species was an easy target as it often stayed near the
coast,
was slow moving and floated when dead.

Right whales travel
from Florida
to Iceland in the Western North Atlantic with a number of critical
habitats
recognized along the way including the calving area off Florida and
Georgia,
and feeding areas in Cape Cod Bay, Great South Channel, Gulf of
Maine,
the Bay of Fundy, and Scotian Shelf. Some right whales are also
seen
in more northerly locations such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Newfoundland,
Greenland and Iceland. Little is known about the present
day
range in the Eastern North Atlantic, however, the Bay of Biscay was the
location of the first commercial whaling beginning hundreds of years
ago
and right whales ranged north to Spitzbergen.

Even
though these whales have been protected from whaling since 1935, their
population has shown no significant signs of recovery. It has been
suggested that this may be due to a number of factors including:

Combined, these have
left the Right Whale in a very compromised position.

Right whale "Radiator" with healed
propellor cuts on his back.
Not all right whales die when struck - some carry the scars for the
rest of their lives. Photo: Laurie Murison

YOU CAN HELP!

By symbolically
adopting aNorth
Atlanticright whale you can help us try to resolve these
problems. Adopt
an individual whale, a mother/calf pair, or a whole family for yourself,
as a gift for family and friends, as a memoriam, or for
your classroom
or group. The tax deductible adoption fee will go towards
costs
for right whale research, conservation and education programs including:

co-operating
in a
whale disentanglement
network in the Bay of Fundy, tracking entangled whales to hopefully
remove
entangling fishing lines.

analysis of
faecal
material for
lipids to determine efficiency of digestion. Faecal material floats
briefly
at the surface and can be collected with a fine mesh net. Remains
from digestion of the tiny zooplankton can then be analyzed.

using small
hand
held computers
linked to Global Positioning System units to record sightings of right
whales seen during whale watches. Whale watchers are often out
for
a longer period of time, in slightly harsher weather and cover a larger
area than dedicated right whale researchers who work with limited
budgets
and therefore concentrate their effort in areas that will be most
productive.

working
closely
with whale watchers
to continue adherence to a voluntary Code of Ethics and providing as
much
information as possible for them in the promotion of stewardship of
right
whales.

developing a
Code
of Conduct for
fishermen to help them make informed decisions when fishing if right
whales
are present.

In Memory. It is with great sadness that Slash has been removed from our symbolic adoption because she was discovered dead March 17, 2011, off the coast of Virginia. Her carcass wasn't recovered but it is suspected that she died from a vessel strike.

Calvin
#2223:
Calvin was born in 1992 to Delilah #1223. At 8 months, Calvin was weaned prematurely when her mother was struck by a ship and killed in the Bay of Fundy. Against all odds, she survived without her mother. In 2000 Calvin was found entangled in fishing gear. Luckily the gear was successfully removed in 2001. Despite a rough start she has now matured and has given birth to her first calf, Hobbes, in 2005 and a second calf in 2009.

Kleenex
#1142:
Kleenex was first seen with a calf in 1977. In 1991 she became a grandmother when her daughter Drippy-nose #1123 gave birth to her first calf. In 2001 she became a great-grandmother when her daughter's first calf gave birth. Today Kleenex has one of the biggest families with 7 calves, 5 grandcalves and 3 great-grandcalves.

(Drippy-Nose is also known as Sonnet in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalogue)

Baldy
#1240:
Baldy was first seen in 1974 near Long Island, New York, with her first known calf. In 1982, she gave birth to her second known calf, Bugs #1241. In 1989 she became a grandmother when Bugs gave birth to her first calf. Now Baldy has a total of 8 calves, 9 grandcalves and 1 great-grand calf

Catspaw
#1632:
Catspaw is an adult female and was first seen in 1986. After a
long absence, she
reappeared in 2000 and had her first calf in 2002, #3232, followed by another in 2005. #3532, and a third in 2008.
In 2005, Catspaw was the first right whale mother to be seen giving
birth to her calf, Resolution.

Wart #1140: Wart
was first identified in 1981 and is an adult female with a large family
of six calves, eight grand-calves and one great grand-calf. She
was recently entangled in fishing line. One of her sons,
Shackleton, travelled up the Delaware River in 1994 after separating
from Wart. He carries scars from being hit by a tug boat but did
eventually find his way back to the ocean.

Misstip #1156:
Misstip is and
adult male and was
first seen in 1981. Misstip is missing both of his fluke tips. He has six calves and two
grand-calves. Two of his calves have the
same mother, Shenandoah #1266
and are full
siblings.
Misstip also has a male calf with Bugs
#1241.

Gemini #1150:
Gemini is an
adult male and has three
calves and four grand-calves. His name comes from a pair of scars
on his back reminiscent of the constellation Gemini or the Twins.
Gemini is the father of Baldy's#1240 male calf #2140.

What do the
numbers mean?
The catalogue of recognizable individual North Atlantic right whales
was
started in 1980 by the New England Aquarium using techniques developed
by Roger Payne and his research group Payne's group discovered
that
each southern right whale had a recognizable pattern of rough patches
of
skin (callosities) on their heads. North Atlantic right whales
also
are uniquely marked. For the catalogue,
each right
whale is assigned a number which is a basic reference code. The
first
two digits correspond to the year they were added to the
catalogue.
The first number refers to a decade 1 = 1980s, 2 = 1990s, 3 = 2000s, 4
= 2010s, the second number to the year in that decade e.g. 12 = 1982,
26
= 1996, 34 = 2004. The last two numbers are the code number for
the
whales added in that year. In some instances, the calves have the
same last numbers as their mothers as with Calvin and Delilah, #2223
and
#1223.

Why don't they
have names
instead of numbers? It is often easier to relate to a name
than
a number but in some ways it is easier to keep track of a system of
numbers,
particularly when dealing with computers and processing data.
Think
of all the different numbers you are known by - driver's licence,
credit
cards, birth certificate, etc. But some right whales do have
names
such as those here. The names usually refer to a marking or
feature
of the whale which makes it easier to remember the whale. In the
next few years, all right whales will be given names. This naming
process is being coordinated by the New England Aquarium.